To the MAX
by ManEatingUnicorn
Summary: Your average 132 y.o. girl, lives in her hidden alternative-space on Earth. Years pass, same old giant tree holding everything together and none of the soul eggs she planted hatched yet. Then one day on the job, a boy ruins her plan, and gets himself possessed. Now she must rid him of his new body-roommate. But what will she do when he wakes and asks to become her apprentice?
1. Ch 1 Forgotten Memories

I feel a warmth. It grabs expectantly at my back. In a daze, I turned to search for the heat's source. I am being carried by a man. I know this man. I strain my eyes to see the face of my beloved father. But his embrace is not the heat that I acknowledged. This was not a loving heat you would feel from a fireplace on cold winter nights, while being comforted by friends and family. This is a fire, one that was birthed to kill.

My gaze transfers to my father's sweating brow, and then to his troubled face. We are in our precious house. The flames lick at the floorboards and scratch its bloody fingernails up the walls. My father hurriedly carries me down the hallway, toward the back door.

"She's a WITCH!" I hear voiced behind us.

"KILL HER! HER PARENTS MUST BE WARLOCKS TOO!" voices howl.

I turned my head to a woman running next to us. Next to her is a boy. Nay, he is a man, no older than 18. They are the figures of my mother and brother. We all reach the end of the hallway; my brother fumbles frantically with the doorknob. Finally it gives way. The door opens with a warning cry. The screams once behind us have surrounded the house. Entrapping us with flame of mouth and fire of murderous intent, I hear a gunshot. The bullet breaks at our feet. My brother slams the door. We turn and run into a bedroom, my parent's bedroom. With words piercing our ears and smoke in our lungs, my father sets me down and we sit on the queen size bed. In the last moments our full family will be together, my mother and father embrace us.

Then a large rock invades through the small window, just above my eye level, to the right of the bed. My parents look at the small freedom the vile rock had given us. My parents then glance at each other and nod. Turning toward us with smiles on their face, I see their mouths moving, I hear nothing emerging from them; I didn't allow myself to hear them, in fear of what was coming out of their cold lips. It was like my ears had been clogged from the smoke in place of my lungs. But my brother understood, he nods with tears threatening his eyes. Each of them kiss our foreheads. I look up to see my parents exchange one last kiss before they split down the hallway, my father runs toward the gunshot, and my mother darts towards what once was the front door. We hear yelling. Then my brother scoots the night stand under the window before grabbing me and shoving me out the broken window. He then drags himself out as well. With bloodied hands he drags me to the forest behind our fading paradise.

My brother stops me at a big tree and we huddle in its roots. I open my mouth with my eyes watered, but my brother's hand covers my mouth before any gasps of desperation escape my lips. The yelling gets farther from the cinders. Then we hear a gunshot. I begin to peer around the trunk, but my brother pulls me away before I can see the burnt corpse of a man hit the ground. Another shot, and another "slump" sound. The curdled voices turn silent, then cheering bursts from the bystanders watching the "incident." That incident was the beginning of the end of our peaceful lives. One phrase said by an arsonist pounds continuously at my ear drums, "Too bad that little girl turned out to be a witch, I really liked her family." Repeated in my mind over and over, "too bad…. too bad.." Those bitter words and the crackling of the fire are the last thing I see, before I wake with a start.

When my eyes open, the scene is gone. "It was the same nightmare again." I thought. I emerge to a familiar face rubbing against my hand. My sweaty and previously tensed body gets up and slumps towards the light, not that kind of light. I feed the house residents. I go back inside, there I find myself in front of a mirror. Today, I will be a boy, around the age of 14, will probably be most convenient, I think to myself. His name will be… Well I'll figure that out later, I thought. Out of the house, I walk down the path, towards the street directly in front of it. The closest street is about 300 meters from my fortress. "James" I decided. That is what my name will be today. "James" has Sandy blonde hair, and not much of a "Prince-like" figure, but there's hope, if I gave it to him, doubtful. He has a beautiful ordinarily shaped face, gorgeous, regular skin tone. Quite below-par eyes, and a height that he is not proud of. These are the features that make up "James Wimpleton." I need to work on my last names.

After I've walked about 200 meters I reach my good old neighbors, The Wilsons. They know I have a secret, though they don't completely understand it.

I see Gretta Wilson pulling weeds in her garden, and Henry Wilson involuntarily playing tug-of-war with their mule. They look up at the sound of my footsteps crunching on expired leaves lain across a blood-stained ground imbedded with memories of despair. I still see the remanence of the horrible red glow. I shake my head at the putrid thoughts. Then I notice Gretta smiling and waving at me. I wave back, Mr. Wilson, however, grumpily returns to the fight he's already lost with Mildred, the mule. Her "official" name, gifted to her by her original owners is "Sugar." I think that name suits her quite poorly. So I've substituted that name with a new one. Truth be told, I was just working on my naming skills.

A loud rustling in the bushes announces Simon, Mr. and Mrs. Wilson's cat. Somehow he's figured out my secret as well, and recognizes me no matter the shape or size I've become. Animal instinct, I guess, makes up for his lack of stealth. I snicker at my own mind remark and receive a squinted stare from Simon, as if he knew what I was saying about him in my head. I give him a reassuring pat on the head and he accompanies me on my walk down the Wilson's driveway. I have a one-sided conversation with him, about how many mice he hasn't caught and how many birds he failed to sneak up on, he acknowledges my assumptions with a flick of his tail or a dart of his eyes. We reach the end of the 100 meter driveway. Simon takes his leave, and I take a left.


	2. Ch 2 SoulSucker

After my morning "Happy-go-Lucky" stroll from my refuge. I cut the innocent thoughts and got down to my reality. James walks two blocks up the sidewalk, towards where someone claims to have last seen it. "It," being my next job offer. I have a little pest extermination business put together, aside from whatever I actually do. If one were to look at my business card, they would see whatever they wanted to see, but in this case, one with this specific problem, would see something like this:

"Supernatural Extermination . Specializes in all serious supernatural happenings and un-dead occurrences . (XXX)666-XXXX . Gets the job done for good . CALL NOW and receive a free interview." I'm who one calls when things get bad. From what I've heard, things have gotten pretty bad. Not that bad, but like, almost bad.

*MAX NOTE:* Here's a little Magic lesson, and a small insight on who I am.

Alright, here we go, the name I personally go by, is MAX. I'm a magic user, and an unusual one at that. The only one of my "kind" actually, but more on that later. What you need to know right now, is what the deal is with this job, and what it's got to do with what's here on Earth. (I am technically human, by the way. Born and raised as a human for the first bit of my life. More info later…) Anyway, right now, I'm hunting. Hunting for something I call a SoulSucker, nasty little buggers. Now, usually I don't get involved with your average "haunted horror houses" or the everyday ghost that gets a laugh out of scaring people, that's all good and fun, but when something "other worldly" gets too strong, that's when I have to step in.

Now for SoulSuckers, its name is pretty self-explanatory. These guys can start out with just one distorted soul. Normally when someone dies, but isn't done with their business on Earth, they turn into a ghost and roam around Earth, some people see them and others can't. When a ghost figures out what's keeping them here, they hopefully make peace with whatever it may be, and pass on into the After-life. (Now that is a whole other story that is way too long for me to sum up right now, so for now, you just get "after-life.") Well, all that is good and dandy, but when a selfish soul dies, (and I know everybody has their selfish sides, but this is like, really narcissistic selfish, and "everything is mine" selfish) things get bad. When a selfish soul dies, they become so self-indulged that sometimes they don't even realize they're deceased. When they start walking around and talking to people without any responses, they get mad, which is also bad. Most ghosts can choose who sees them and who doesn't depending on what's keeping them from passing on. However, a ghost showing themselves to a human takes a lot of energy on the ghost's part (it involves manipulating the material plane, of which ghosts don't have much influence over.)

But in this case, a selfish soul who wants everyone to see them, doesn't have enough power to reveal themselves to everyone, they do the predictable: search for power. Now when it's just one Selfish Soul, they can't do much damage, but it just so happens that selfish attracts selfish and soon enough you have a mind-dead monster made up of the souls of various selfish intensities. Once it gets strong enough, it doesn't need more selfish souls to get stronger, which are relatively scarce, they can start preying on "regular" ghosts. They usually start with ones who have given up on searching for a way to pass, those are the weaker ones, and make their way up to stronger souls. Eventually, a Sucker gathers so much energy on the material plane that it's able to possess a body. Body possession is an energy consuming thing to do, so when a SoulSucker happens upon a DEAD body, they can influence it as much as they like, without losing so much energy. When a SoulSucker possesses a body (alive or not) it becomes capable of sucking the life force of living beings. It tends to not go after living creatures because their souls are… well alive. But when it does, it isn't a fun experience for the victim. So, to sum it all up:

Selfish Person + Death + Unfinished Business = Selfish Soul

Selfish Soul + More Selfish Souls = SoulSucker

SoulSucker + Normal Ghosts = SoulSucker capable of possession

SoulSucker c.o.p. + DEAD body = Wreaking Havoc on City + possible sucking of life forces

Sucked life forces = Hollow bodies (more info later… probably)

Havoc on City = Obnoxious mess that Max ends up cleaning.

Now THAT is what I consider, pretty bad. That is why I was called. To get rid of little beasty and be on my way.

In this case, the SoulSucker found a previously pronounced dead, unnaturally large Pitbull-Rottweiler mix. Did I mention that in the case of a SoulSucker finding a dead body and possessing it, during possession they get to manipulate the body's appearance? Isn't that convenient? The stronger the Sucker, the weirder it gets. These guys are a serious pain in my ass.

*END OF MAX NOTES*


	3. Ch 3 Day of the Un-Dead

James walked a few more blocks up, turning a couple corners, magiclessly navigating my way around town (paranormal beings seeking power are attracted to power, so using magic would basically be like a human ringing the doorbell on the senses of a gross, un-dead, mutant dog. "Here I am, eat me,") finally James reached a street where I sensed the Suckers presence strongest. (I can sense paranormal beings without using magic. Like a hound sniffing out its next dinner. Only I'm sniffing out the dog, and instead of eating it, am about to seriously kick some paranormal ass.) I stop walking and stand still. With eyes closed and my senses multiplied ten-fold, I listen.

*MAX NOTES:* Small, semi-important thing to keep in mind; I am very powerful. (Further details to come) but to explain the situation right now, I am covering up my enormous "Magical Presence" with more magic. Doesn't really make sense, I know, but I'm like god here so don't question it. I am able to use all of my advanced senses of a powerful Magic user while not being noticed by SirSuckerFace.

*Authors Note: When I explain something in further detail that is not completely relevant to the story, I will mark them as a side note, like so: MAGIC HISTORY: or something along those lines. Readers can choose to read those or not. Those who read it will just be more informed and engulfed in the magical world I am trying to create. MAX NOTES are part of the story and cannot be skipped without causing confusion. Read at own risk. "If it's in bold, you should read it in order to avoid further mental breakdown. Thanks." ONWARD AND WHEREVER THE HELL THIS STORY IS GOING*

Given the current situation, I have disguised my presence as an average human, or if anything, even more helpless. In the Suckers eyes, or whatever it uses to see, (open to suggestions) if it were to sense me, I would be considered a flea on its dead dog back. If I were to release my concealing spell, it would be like the Sucker was a mini-dwarf flea on a full-grown pissed off Dragon of the ancient times. If you were wondering, even compared to humans, that's damn big.

*MAX'S DRAGON HISTORY:* (optional reading) Like many animal species, there are different breeds of Dragon. The largest and oldest on record is the Dragon of Ancient Times (about twice the size of a blue whale.) Now there are plenty of different dragons of various species. Dragons are an important figure in this story. Where do they reside? Read on! (More info later)

*Authors note: (Super optional reading) If you want to imagine the dragons and what they look like or if you have an idea of what you want them to look like, Draw it! Message me if you want to see my take on the dragons, I'll search the internet, or draw one up or something. Just makes the story more real, y'know?*

*END OF MAX HISTORY*

At first, nothing seems out of the ordinary. Just a normal cracked up street with sidewalks remodeled by tree roots and a passerby every so often. Then, a sensational smell graced James' nose. It was a musty smell, earthy, little bit of rotting corpse, and it had a nice coating of evil (that's right, I can smell evil)

*MAX'S SUCKER INFORMATION:* (optional reading) SoulSuckers after about an Earth's year or so loses its goal of "get more powerful to get noticed," and changes the motive to, "kill." But that's in extreme cases. Right now, this one is just a brainless idiot causing chaos wherever it goes. My guess is it sucked up a bad soul or two in one of its meals, conveniently speeding up the process towards its new motive.

*END OF MAX SUCKING WITH INFORMATION*

This bugger's got to be a little over half a year old, I thought to myself. James followed my sense of smell another block up, turned the corner and found himself face to chewed off tail with the hind legs of what resembled a dog. I hope he won't ever have to see the face of this pup.

Just as that thought rang through my head, it twitched its head and stopped what it was doing, eating a half-eaten pizza out of the garbage.

*MAX'S MAGIC INFO:* (optional reading) When a being becomes so powerful, it will then be easier to locate, so it instinctively disguises its presence, if they feel it is the smart thing to do. (I use "feel" and "smart" as very loose terms in this situation.) It is similar to what I have done with my magic presence. Except, what the SoulSucker does (this applies to more monsters/ paranormal beings than just a SoulSucker) when it has possessed a body, and wishes to disguise itself, it has a couple of options.

*MAX NOTES:* (read to avoid brain flips) This specific SoulSucker used the only known technique that applies to dead body possessions which is: adopting the characteristics of the being it has possessed, however it is used with a living host sometimes too, but that is less common, reason being is that their presence is not completely erased, just weakened, it's kind of a "blend with the crowd" sort of deal, but they remain conscious and can awake whenever they please, they're taking acting to a whole new level. (EXAMPLE: Max walks across an innocent looking dog eating a pizza [except for the fact that the mutt looks half dead] and would have walked right by it if not for her super senses. Max draws her sword and dog turns into grotesque(er) monster dog. END OF EXAMPLE) *END OF MAX NOTES*

*MAX'S UNSUPPORTED INFORMATION CONTINUATION:*(optional reading)

The advantages of something possessing a living body is that once it has control, it basically becomes a parasite and feeds off the life force of its host. When it's "awake" and in control of the body, it does as it pleases while being supported by a functioning living body, the disadvantages is that it takes a lot of energy to remain "awake" or in control of a living body for a long period of time. However this can also be considered an advantage, when the control is lost, a SoulSucker will go into a slumber-like state inside the living being and be almost completely un-detectable. The only way to detect a paranormal being inside a living being, while in its dormant state, is with a spell that can only be used by a specific category of magic users (more info later), or me. However, another disadvantage is that it can only awaken when it has regained enough energy to take control again. (EXAMPLE: Human seems totally normal one day, turns into a serial killer the next, then returns to its normal routine a week or so later without warning. [however, they could just be a serial killer…])

Possessions of dead bodies usually need to exchange bodies every now and then if they get too… rotty. Possessions of living bodies end when the "possessor" decides to give it up, or if it has a parasitic relationship and ends up killing its host. FUN FACT: Some Paranormal beings can possess something (dead or alive) and it will retain its current state until it is done with the body. (more info later.. maybe..)

*END OF MAX'S MAGIC LESSON*

The mutt stopped chewing. It turned its bulbous head innocently towards where James was standing. But the way it stared at me, and the way it positioned itself, it knew its façade was over. Poised in a pouncing position, it squealed at me. It sounded like some of its vocal chords had been ripped out (which they had) and as if the other vocal chords were attempting to make a sound of the living. James drew his sword.


	4. Ch 4 A Bullet-Proof Plan

With sword drawn, and the Sucker's full attention, I create an avoidance or "warning" barrier, with a 50 meter diameter, around the Mutt and James. Anyone that comes within range will have a sudden urge to turn around and walk the other way. Anyone already in the barriers range when it is cast will want to turn tail and split out of there as fast as they can.

*MAX'S MAGIC LESSON*

There are many different magic users, all categorized into different groups and levels. One of those groups is the spell casters. They specialize in spells (duh.) The beginners, or ones with less power, use objects to direct their spell where they want it to go. The more advanced casters can recite spells and simply "tell" it what to do, or where to go. Some will have such great control over their spells, that just by "willing" it to cast, it will happen. It is the most advanced technique in casting spells. Max can use this technique.

Magic users can only use magic in one category, the category is chosen by them at birth, and starts to surface at the age of 10-13. It is impossible to change categories, or have more than one category. Those that try to defy nature, end up dead. Sometimes magic that involves more than one category can be tailored to the Magicians personal category to resemble similar results. Some very, very basic spells that are taught in magic school, before Magicians figure out their group, involve more than one category. Those can be used by any magic users. These magicians reside on a planet in a completely different galaxy. These Magicians are NOT human.

The spell Max used to cast the barrier involved the categories: Spell casters and Mind manipulators. How can Max use more than one category of magic? STAY TUNED.

*END OF MAX'S MAGIC LESSON*

James readies his sword. The Sucker arches its back, revealing its decomposing spine.

"Ooh, yum." I say with sarcastic disgust, spitting the words at the beast. The Soul Sucker lets out an echoing howl, consisting of all the terrified voices of all the ghosts it's devoured. James makes a face that looks like he just sucked on a lime. The mutt makes the first move. It lunges at James with teeth bared and eyes pierced. Now of course killing this thing won't work when it's in an already dead body. What I plan on doing, is to wear it down until it is so beaten up and tired, the body will be considered useless. With no other bodies to possess (except mine… but NOBODY wants to go through that hell) it'll have nowhere to go. I'll entrap the Sucker within the very body it used as its puppet. The plan was perfect.

James rolls to the side to avoid the charging bull's path. The deceased dog skids past him. The SoulSucker whips its body back around without a second thought (not that it had any thoughts in the first place.) The force of the turn flings an eyeball from its socket. Lovely. I sprint toward the flea-bitten carcass, just mere feet away from the Sucker, it pushes itself away from my line of fire. Too late, James delivers a whip-kick to its gut just as it jumps away. I crease my eyebrows, shaping James face into a scowl. The dog doesn't back away. I will James to charge, and he does. The SoulSucker roars and attacks with jaws open wide. James thrusts his sword into the dog's mouth. The blade slices through the esophagus and emerges out at the nape of its neck. Too bad this thing didn't need to breathe. The mutt screams, expecting the presumable death that usually would've followed. (Like I said, it isn't the sharpest pencil in the box.) It then screeches out of anger. It bites down, locking James' hand in its cold slimy mouth. Pain rushes from James arm and into Max's head. Well shit, my right arm is trapped inside a dead dog's mouth. James then takes his left hand and clamps it on the mutts jaw, slowly prying it open and off his trapped arm. The dog's body starts flailing, making it all that much harder for me to get its ugly ass-face off my arm.


End file.
